Wall Street's Black Monday, but on New Bond Street - Gold!
ARTinvestment.RU   16 сентября 2008

Projections of the skeptics have not been fulfilled: evening auction works Demiena Hurst passed with great success. Solo-auction the famous painter had 70.5 million pounds (more than 127 million dollars)

While the financial markets around the world head sprinkled ashes on the death of Lehman Brothers, the London auction house Sotheby's is celebrating the victory. Yesterday's solo auction Demiena Hurst (Damien Hirst) already has 70 545 100 pounds (127 256 306 dollars), significantly higher than estimeyt (43-62 million pounds). Of the 56 lots to the new owners have moved 54. But many doubted that the bid will be successful. Like Damien Hurst told myself just before the auction, he more than once dreamed of a nightmare: in his solo bid comes a great number of collectors and art dealers, but none of them do not even think to place bets, because the gallery, resentful at the daring artist who convinced them, that the market needs Hirst «kill». Indeed, the dealers had to take offense: it is all the 223 lots offered for auction, were quite new, and rather than, as expected, to «the plant» to the gallery, they went straight to the auction. It avenged an artist gallery, sometimes «othvatyvayut» a 60 per cent of the value of work. However, Hirst dealers reacted to his zatee with relative humility. The London representative of the artist Dzhopling Jay (Jay Jopling, gallery White Cube) came in yesterday's auction and bought it for at least three pieces.

In addition, many worried by the fact that the market is already «perekormlen» Hirst works: at the recent London auction has more than 20 works by the artist, a quarter of which remained unsold. In August, the British The Art Newspaper reported that the gallery White Cube, which is representative of the artist in the UK, «seated» at the huge number of his works that have not been able to sell at the market. The total cost of these works is 100 million pounds. Hurst with his 120 assistants managed to make a number of collages of butterfly wings, pictures with circles and «health clinics», that to call them «rare» language is not rotated. Fortunately, the artist has decided to stop in time: it recently announced that wants to discontinue the «picture-rotation», «paintings of butterflies »and stuffed in formaldehyde.

Specialists say that -up solo Hirst auction will be judged about the state of affairs in the market of contemporary art. Some people think that now in this market has grown huge «bubble», which sooner or later burst - so why should the market of art as bloat, when the other markets, such a grim situation? Recently, the camp came to Sotheby's alarming news: last week stock auction house declined by 9 percent. But the success of yesterday's auction Hirst denied pessimistic predictions. At night the auction was even found a few records.

Solo-called auction Beautiful Inside My Head Forever. The most expensive lot, represented in this auction, was «Golden Taurus», 10-tonnoe stuffed bull in formaldehyde, topped with a golden disc. The buyer paid for it 10 345 250 pounds (18 661 796 USD). If you believe in pounds, the «Taurus» is now regarded as the most expensive work of Hirst: Installation «Sleeping spring», sold at Sotheby's in June 2007 and for some time ranking as the most expensive living artists works , cost 9 652 796 pounds (but 19 075 098 USD). The second top lot evening auction was the installation called «Kingdom» (shark in formaldehyde), pushed for the 9 561 250 pounds (17 247 539 dollars) when estimeyte 6 million pounds. Between the two anonymous buyers bid on the shark on the phone, flared up this fight.

According to Sotheby's, over the past two weeks to look at the range of Hurst offered for bidding, come at least 21 096 potential buyers. Auction house painter himself and staged a solo-heavy promotion of the auction: Within 11 days of work, Hirst can be seen in the pre-show in London (the exhibition ended last Saturday, was attended by about 9 thousand people), and at the end of August with pomp passed Impressions of American and Indian Bridzhhemptone New Delhi. Look at the new Hirst works in the studio the artist came to such well-known collectors, as the Italian designer Miuchcha Prada (Miuccia Prada), Ukrainian billionaire Viktor Pinchuk, and head of auction house Christie's, François Pinault (François Pinault). Yesterday in the auction room had 650 people. At least three lots were sold for an amount in excess of 5 million pounds, 18 works made over a million each. Today in London, will be «Second Series» Beautiful Inside My Head Forever - the day the auction. It was expected that it will also be successful.

During the bidding yesterday, Hurst was in the London area Kemden where playing billiards with the world snooker champion Ronnie O'Sallivanom (Ronnie O'Sullivan). «I think that the market longer than anyone thinks. I love art, and it [the success of a solo auction. - Ed. ] proves that I was not alone ». Indeed, not one. Hurst became the first modern artist, who staged a solo auction, but if the boom in contemporary art will continue, we can say that it did not last. There are rumors that soon will make such bid Takashi Murakami (Takashi Murakami).

Material prepared Yulia Maksimova

Sources: artinfo.com , online.wsj.com , nytimes.com , theartnewspaper.com , artinvestment.ru